Indigo and Air India passengers beware, flight schedules cut for the next three months..

Until now, only road travelers were inconvenienced by long queues of bikes and cars at petrol pumps and the scarcity of fuel. Now, however, passengers taking to the skies will also begin to feel the impact. In fact, two of the country's major airlines—IndiGo and Air India—have decided to curtail their domestic flight operations. These reductions are scheduled to remain in effect from June through August.

**Why are flight operations being reduced?**

Air India has cited the rising cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) as the primary reason for cutting back on its flights. IndiGo, on the other hand, has stated that lower passenger demand between June and September is the main catalyst for these reductions. Air India has reduced its domestic flight schedule by up to 22 percent. Consequently, air traffic has slowed down on several routes.

**Which routes will be affected?**

Following these flight reductions, the impact will be most pronounced at the country's two busiest airports: Delhi and Mumbai. A silver lining for passengers is that flights on no route will be completely suspended; instead, the frequency and number of scheduled departures are simply being scaled back.

Specifically, the number of flights operating from Delhi to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata will be reduced. Similarly, from the country's financial capital—Mumbai—the frequency of flights bound for Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Patna, and Bhopal will be curtailed. Furthermore, return flights originating from various cities across South India will also be affected by these changes.

**What about those who booked tickets in advance?**

The most pressing question concerns the passengers who are directly impacted by this decision taken by the airlines. It is worth noting that the airlines had already made contingency plans to address this situation. According to information provided by Air India, passengers whose flights are affected will be offered various options, such as a seat on an alternative flight, the opportunity to change their travel dates free of charge, or a full refund.

According to media reports, flights scheduled to be cancelled or reduced between June 1 and August 31 have already been removed from the airlines' official booking websites as well as from various online travel portals. Consequently, passengers will no longer be able to book tickets in advance for those flights that have been cancelled.

Will Air Tickets Become More Expensive?

Airlines have cited the rising prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel as the reason behind the cancellation of flights. With fewer flights in operation, the availability of seats will decrease while demand remains high; under these circumstances, a rise in airfares is inevitable. Airlines have already imposed a fuel surcharge of ₹400–₹450 on passengers. On several routes, fares have surged by as much as 40–50%. Aviation experts have also warned that if fuel prices do not decline in the coming days, airlines will further hike their ticket prices.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Dainik Jagran. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.